A Message from the Moon Children: Wally Joe, Zola, Elizabeth, Mary and LaRhesa

If
you came of age during the
"Golden Era" of
major league baseball, sometime
during the decade between
the early 1950's and 1960's,
then there is a good chance
you remember the name Wally
Moon. From 1954 to 1965, Moon's
plate discipline and sound
fundamentals made him one
of the game's steadiest producers.

But, if you only knew Wally
Moon from the numbers on the
back of his bubblegum card,
then you didn't

know the man's whole story, our
father's story. Our grandfather,
a proud man himself who lived in
relatively meager circumstances,
kept his youngest son focused on
academic achievement first and foremost.
So, despite significant athletic
ability and the lure of professional
baseball, Dad left the cotton fields
of far northeastern Arkansas, not
for the bright lights of the big
leagues, at least not yet, but for
the education available at Texas
A&M University.

Our father finally signed his pro
baseball contract in 1950. He then
spent four years in the minors before
finally making the St. Louis Cardinals'
big-league roster and starting lineup
in 1954. He stayed a fixture in
St. Louis until injuries curtailed
his numbers during the 1958 season.
Never one to make excuses, Dad was
traded at the end of that year to
the Los Angeles Dodgers and vowed
to make an impact with his new team.

And what an impact he did make.
Dad helped the Dodgers became a
powerhouse, and the team won three
World Series titles from 1959 to
1965. Los Angeles was fertile soil
for our family in other ways, too.
For one thing, our numbers, his
children, grew to five. With baseball
salaries nowhere near what they
are today, Dad held a great off-season
job as an executive with a boat-building
company. And, much to our delight,
Dad even made time for a guest spot
on one of our favorite television
series, "Wagon Train".

We don't think it would be too much
of a stretch to suggest that our
father was a baseball renaissance
man, and, arguably, he proved that
after retiring as a player to become
a coach and teacher for the next
30 years. He and Mom, Bettye, were
great parents, too. We think we've
all turned out pretty well, thanks
to the values instilled in us by
our parents.

With a keen understanding of baseball,
a savvy business mind, and an unyielding
spiritual faith, our Dad, Wally
Moon, continues to leave a lasting
legacy. While this Web site focuses
on his numerous baseball achievements,
we want you also to understand that
we're proud of everything he has
accomplished in life, win or lose,
on the field or off, and that, as
a man--husband, father and grandfather--we
think he would be deserving of this
kind of recognition even if he'd
never picked up a baseball bat.

Looking
Back

Bettye
Moon
Bettye Moon remembers
her husband, Wally,
making his first major
league roster with the
St. Louis Cardinals
on the eve of the 1954
season. The Redbirds
made room for Moon by
trading fan favorite--and
future Hall-of Famer--Enos
Slaughter, igniting
a groundswell of criticism
against Bettye's then
24-year-old husband.

Wally
Joe Moon
Kingsville, Texas
The eldest of Wally
Moon's five children
and the only son, Wally
Joe Moon, was born at
the outset of Wally's
big-league baseball
career. Later, son had
the privilege of playing
for his father during
Wally's tenure as head
baseball coach and athletic
director at John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas.

Mary
Sherrer
San Antonio, TX
Too young at the time
to remember Wally's
final seasons with the
Dodgers, daughter Mary
has many fond and memorable
recollections of her
"famous" father's
interactions with baseball
fans through the years.

LaRhesa
Moon Pollock
San Antonio, Texas
Wally's youngest daughter was born in southern California, but grew up in Arkansas as her father guided the baseball fortunes at John Brown University. Later, the Moon family moved to San Antonio as Wally purchased controlling interest in that city's Texas League franchise.